Lawyer tells judge he believes his client lied on the stand

Charged in a series of burglaries and violent home invasions, Jahaad Marshall, 27, opted to testify in his own defense at his Raleigh, N.C., trial, against the advice of his attorney.

That led his lawyer, Deonte Thomas, to ask to be removed from the case. Then, outside the presence of the jury, Thomas told Judge Henry Hight he believes Marshall lied on the stand during his testimony, reports the Raleigh News & Observer.

Marshall told the jury he had driven a getaway car but was never involved in any of the crimes he is charged with. And he blamed mistaken identity for the charges against him, contending that someone else who looks like him was the real culprit.

A prosecutor in the Wake County case was dubious, according to the newspaper and WRAL. “He doesn’t really exist, does he?” said assistant district attorney Boz Zellinger of the claimed culprit when cross-examining Marshall.

“I can’t give a direct examination of Mr. Marshall that I don’t believe would put myself in a position to risk my license,” Thomas said earlier in his unsuccessful bid to be released from defending Marshall. “I don’t see the questions I could ask that would help Mr. Marshall in defending this case–the way he intends to go with it–that I know would be false to the court. I just don’t see how I could even go forward with the first question.”